BIO-INSPIRED SELF ASSEMBLY
Natural species with sophisticated architectures carry highly efficient functions. Viruses, as one of the examples, are the most efficient gene transfection agents in nature. Their biological function is governed by the sophisticated structure of the capsid, as well as the its structure transition during the infection process. Inspired by the structure-functional relationship of the natural species, this project aims to mimic virus to develop efficient gene delivery vectors.
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Our strategy is to use short synthetic peptides to co-assemble with nucleic acids (including DNA and RNA). By varying the peptide sequence, we have developed several generations of artificial viruses, including parapox virus-like nanococoons and adenovirus-like nanoberries. The β-sheet peptide nano-assemblies mimic the virus capsids, protecting the nucleic acids from enzyme degradation. Moreover, nanoberries induce significantly high transgene expression in HEK293 cell line.
The current focus of this project is
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